A Blank Mind's Eye by Day

Close your eyes and try to picture a sunset. Most people see some version of the image, even if it is faint. People with aphantasia see nothing. Yet a new survey suggests many of them do see images at night, while they sleep.

In a study published in Scientific Reports, 46% of participants with visual aphantasia said they always have visual dreams, ScienceAlert reported on Nov. 2. About 8% said they never do. The findings suggest that a missing mind's eye during the day does not necessarily mean a blank screen at night.

The results come from online questionnaires — not brain scans or sleep-lab recordings. That limitation shapes everything the study can and cannot say, and it is worth keeping in mind from the start.

Aphantasia is the inability to voluntarily create mental pictures. It is not a disease and is not considered harmful on its own. Estimates suggest it affects roughly 2 to 5% of people, though figures vary depending on how it is measured. Many people only discover they have it as adults, after realizing that others meant "picture this" literally.

Inside the 205-Person Survey

The study was led by Derek Arnold and Loren Bouyer of the University of Queensland in Australia, both of whom describe having lifelong aphantasia, along with Merlin Monzel of the University of Bonn in Germany. They surveyed 205 people online, placing 84 in a visual aphantasia group and 121 in a comparison group based on their visual imagery scores.

Participants imagined everyday scenarios, such as a social gathering, and rated which imagined sensations they experienced. They also reported how often their dreams included sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, movement, and inner speech, with an option to say they were unsure.

The researchers asked about daily habits as well, such as mentally rehearsing a conversation. Each participant completed three questionnaires, which let the team check whether answers stayed consistent.

The headline finding concerns vision. Nearly half of the aphantasia group reported always dreaming in images. In the published paper, the authors wrote: "Our data thus highlight that many Visual-Aphantasics report having visual dreams." The paper also notes that an earlier study by neurologist Adam Zeman and colleagues found that about 63% of visual aphantasics describe having visual dreams, so the new figure fits a pattern seen before.

Other senses told a more varied story. People who more often heard sounds or inner speech in dreams also tended to report those experiences while awake, but the links were weak to moderate. Some participants had little sensory imagination awake and equally sparse dreams. Others reported rich dream sensations they could not summon on purpose during the day.

The Puzzle of Where Dream Images Come From

The study raises an obvious question. If someone cannot picture an apple on purpose, where do the images in their dreams come from?

One long-standing idea is that aphantasia mainly affects voluntary imagery. Dreams are involuntary, so they may rely on brain processes that do not require deliberate effort. A review of aphantasia and involuntary imagery notes that the condition is often described this way largely because many aphantasics report visual dreams, though some studies show involuntary imagery is affected too.

The new study's authors offer a related possibility: brain regions involved in imagination may not coordinate well in some people, and that difficulty may persist in sleep for some and change for others. The researchers did not measure brain activity, so this idea remains untested.

Earlier work complicates the picture. A 2020 Scientific Reports study of more than 250 self-identified aphantasics found that, as a group, they reported fewer and less vivid dreams than people with typical imagery. "Aphantasics reported dreaming less often," Joel Pearson, the University of New South Wales neuroscientist who oversaw that research, said at the time. He added that the dreams they did report tended to carry less vivid sensory detail.

Both findings can be true at once — aphantasia may not be one condition but several, with different underlying causes. The variety in the new survey, where two people with the same label described very different dream lives, fits that interpretation.

Limits of Memory and Self-Report

This is an observational survey, and its limits are significant. Everything depends on people accurately remembering and describing their dreams, which is difficult for anyone. Dream memories fade within minutes of waking.

The aphantasia group was also more likely to answer "unsure" about whether certain sensations appeared in their dreams. That uncertainty makes comparisons harder. In addition, the aphantasia group included people with weak visual imagery as well as people with none, so the 46% figure does not apply only to people with a completely blank mind's eye.

The sample was modest at 205 people, recruited online, and the study did not establish why some aphantasics dream visually while others do not. It shows an association between waking and dreaming experiences, not a cause.

For readers who suspect they have aphantasia, the finding offers reassurance more than instruction. Experiencing vivid dreams does not rule out aphantasia, and lacking them does not confirm it. There is no medical treatment needed for aphantasia itself. People who notice sudden changes in imagery, memory, or sleep, especially after a head injury, should talk with a doctor.

Future studies could get closer to the truth by waking volunteers in a sleep lab right after a dream and asking what they saw. Brain imaging during waking imagination and during sleep could also show whether the two rely on similar processes.

The bottom line is that many people with aphantasia report dreaming in pictures, suggesting the brain's capacity for imagery may switch on when deliberate control switches off. That explanation is still a hypothesis, and the next step is to test it with direct measurements during sleep.

What Readers Want to Know

What is aphantasia? It is the inability to voluntarily form mental images. Estimates suggest it affects roughly 2 to 5% of people.

What did the new study find? Among 84 people with visual aphantasia, 46% said they always have visual dreams and about 8% said they never do.

Who conducted the research? Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia and the University of Bonn in Germany published in Scientific Reports.

Where do the dream images come from? No one knows yet. One idea is that dreaming relies on involuntary brain processes that work differently from deliberate imagination, but the study did not measure brain activity.

Does the study prove dreams and waking imagination use different brain systems? No. It relied on self-reported surveys, which show associations but cannot identify brain mechanisms.

Is aphantasia harmful? Aphantasia itself is not considered a disease. Anyone with sudden changes in memory, imagery, or sleep should consult a doctor.

What research comes next? Sleep-lab studies that wake people right after dreams, combined with brain imaging, could test where dream imagery originates.